Popular names of 1935, and how old they are now

People born in 1935 turn 91 in 2026. Social Security recorded about 2.1 million births in 1935 under names it lists, and by our estimate about 18% of them are still alive: about 370,000 people.

The year's top names were Mary for girls and Robert for boys. Babies born that year are in the Silent Generation (see Silent names).

6 names on AgeByName had their busiest year ever in 1935: Shirley, Bobby, Buddy, Lavonne, Marlin and Marlyn.

Top girl names of 1935

Most popular girl names of 1935
#	Name	Born 1935	Alive today	Avg. age, everyone
1	Mary	55,076	12,000	66
2	Shirley	42,366	9,500	75
3	Barbara	30,698	6,900	72
4	Betty	28,674	6,400	76
5	Patricia	22,879	5,100	68
6	Dorothy	19,406	4,300	72
7	Joan	18,220	4,100	73
8	Margaret	14,727	3,300	61
9	Nancy	14,544	3,300	68
10	Helen	12,785	2,900	66
11	Carol	11,735	2,600	72
12	Joyce	11,368	2,500	72
13	Doris	10,604	2,400	75
14	Marilyn	10,418	2,300	69
15	Ruth	9,988	2,200	62
16	Virginia	9,867	2,200	66
17	Elizabeth	9,075	2,000	44
18	Jean	8,852	2,000	69
19	Frances	8,770	2,000	67
20	Beverly	7,992	1,800	70
21	Lois	7,990	1,800	75
22	Janet	7,856	1,800	68
23	Donna	7,793	1,700	68
24	Martha	7,621	1,700	66
25	Alice	7,443	1,700	53
26	Dolores	7,375	1,700	74
27	Phyllis	7,370	1,700	74
28	Carolyn	6,967	1,600	67
29	Norma	6,869	1,500	69
30	Ann	6,706	1,500	65
31	Evelyn	6,560	1,500	34
32	Gloria	6,348	1,400	66
33	Marie	6,292	1,400	62
34	Anna	6,162	1,400	39
35	Mildred	5,546	1,200	74
36	Peggy	5,270	1,200	71
37	Rose	5,232	1,200	56
38	Annie	4,849	1,100	54
39	Marlene	4,830	1,100	63
40	Geraldine	4,818	1,100	72
41	Ruby	4,764	1,100	39
42	Catherine	4,698	1,100	54
43	Jane	4,646	1,000	62
44	Joanne	4,565	1,000	68
45	Louise	4,563	1,000	69
46	Marjorie	4,482	1,000	69
47	Janice	4,442	990	70
48	Eleanor	4,166	930	30
49	Wanda	4,102	920	69
50	Sandra	4,089	920	66

Top boy names of 1935

Most popular boy names of 1935
#	Name	Born 1935	Alive today	Avg. age, everyone
1	Robert	56,527	7,100	58
2	James	55,005	6,900	54
3	John	47,509	5,900	55
4	William	40,204	5,000	51
5	Richard	33,946	4,200	60
6	Charles	29,983	3,800	54
7	Donald	29,674	3,700	64
8	George	18,564	2,300	57
9	Thomas	17,684	2,200	53
10	Joseph	17,181	2,200	45
11	David	15,663	2,000	52
12	Ronald	15,489	1,900	64
13	Edward	13,844	1,700	56
14	Paul	12,563	1,600	57
15	Kenneth	12,067	1,500	57
16	Frank	10,420	1,300	59
17	Raymond	9,564	1,200	56
18	Jack	9,438	1,200	34
19	Billy	9,241	1,200	61
20	Harold	9,170	1,100	66
21	Gerald	8,458	1,100	64
22	Jerry	8,452	1,100	63
23	Walter	7,816	980	58
24	Bobby	7,726	970	60
25	Joe	7,555	950	61
26	Eugene	6,859	860	63
27	Henry	6,856	860	34
28	Carl	6,693	840	60
29	Arthur	6,547	820	54
30	Willie	6,327	790	64
31	Albert	6,094	760	57
32	Ralph	6,090	760	65
33	Larry	5,975	750	65
34	Fred	5,493	690	67
35	Lawrence	5,351	670	60
36	Roger	5,152	650	63
37	Harry	5,054	630	62
38	Norman	5,043	630	64
39	Howard	4,970	620	65
40	Roy	4,939	620	60
41	Michael	4,906	610	49
42	Louis	4,622	580	52
43	Daniel	4,591	570	42
44	Gary	4,490	560	65
45	Marvin	4,278	540	56
46	Earl	4,224	530	64
47	Jimmy	4,171	520	57
48	Clarence	4,080	510	62
49	Wayne	4,057	510	63
50	Leroy	3,919	490	62

About these numbers

“Born” counts the babies of each sex given the name in 1935, from Social Security's records. “Alive today” estimates how many of them are still living, using SSA's cohort life tables for people born in 1935. “Avg. age, everyone” is the average age of everyone alive with the name, not just the 1935 babies. Records before the late 1930s undercount births, because many people born then never applied for a Social Security card. How we calculate this